The Implosion Of The Kerry Campaign

You wouldn't know it from the reaction of the Kerry-worshipping media, which is bent on sending the Massachusetts senator to the White House, but his much-vaunted campaign is headed for the rocks.

In the wake of the no-bounce convention which the media is at a loss to explain, the polls stubbornly cling to the notion that the race between Kerry and President Bush will go down to the wire as a neck and neck tie. Given the fact that the only bounce thus far went to the Bush campaign in the post-convention days, there's every reason to believe that the president's chances will continue to improve and Kerry's will continue to dwindle.

Why? Because when you get down to it, all the Kerry-Edwards campaign has in its issue arsenal is their hatred of George W. Bush, and that's not a theme that will get you elected. You have to be able to stand for something and have a background that will enable you to achieve it. Hating Bush, showcasing my misguided younger brother Ron at the convention, dragging Ben Affleck around on the campaign trail, pretending to eat lunch at Wendy's just like regular folks when your real gourmet lunch is waiting for you on the bus outside, and recalling for the umpteenth time that you served in Vietnam just won't cut it.

So what we are watching now is the implosion of the Kerry campaign and it's happening three months before the election. If his campaign continues to roll down the hill at its current speed by the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November there will only be bits and pieces of it left.

Missing 38 out of 49 Senate Intelligence Committee meetings, Kerry displays a startling ignorance of just what is going on in the war on Islamic terrorism. His current spiel is that the president hasn't reacted quickly enough to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that just came out. That ignores all kinds of things the president has been doing since 9/11 to tighten our security such as the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and a drastic reorganization of the FBI. And testifying to the effectiveness of these reforms is the fact that we haven't been the victims of any terrorist attacks here at home in the last three years.

There's a reason for that. The president kept our nation safe by taking the fight to the enemy's homeland, rather than having the battle fought in our streets and cities here at home. The public understands all this, but poor John Kerry thinks that the American people really are as dumb as he and his buddy Michael Moore portray us.

Kerry is going around pledging to get NATO involved in Iraq. The problem for him is that NATO is already involved, training Iraqi troops. This is what happens when you don't go to the meetings.

Since going out on the campaign trail Kerry has made a point of sharing the podium with his outspoken wife Teresa Heinz Kerry (what's all this insisting upon having your maiden name inserted in all references to yourself -- Heinz Kerry, Rodham Clinton, all about?). By showcasing her he simply emphasizes the stark difference between his wife and Laura Bush, a genuine, honest-to-goodness lady. It's simply no contest. As the old time movie characters were wont to say, "I like you baby, you've got class." Laura Bush has class.

When you watch this campaign you realize that there is no choice -- George Bush is the only choice. The contest is between people who have class and people who are just angry, and the only phrase they can think of to describe Bush supporters is "goons."

John Kerry is starting to make his former boss Michael Dukakis look presidential.

Mike Reagan, the eldest son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is heard on more than 200 talk radio stations nationally as part of the Radio America Network. Comments to mereagan@hotmail.comfor Mike.